Convertible furniture

ABSTRACT

An article of convertible furniture in which the seat portion of the furniture is of two part hinged construction pivotally mounted in the main body of the article so that the seat portion may be swung out and extended in front of the furniture, and leaving a space between the seat portion of the furniture and the back, and incorporating a moveable support frame which may be interposed in the space defined between the extended seating portion and the back, the back cushion of the furniture being removeable and insertable in such space, and being supported by such frame, whereby to provide a bed or reclining surface.

United States Patent 11 1 J anusc CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE [76] Inventor:Mieczyslaw Janusc, 848 Norwich B1vd., Bay Ridges, Ontario, Canada [22]Filed: Nov. 5, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 413,030

Germany 5/29 14 1 Feb. 11, 1975 895.947 5/1962 Great Britain 5/29Primary I:'.\'uminer.Casmir A. Nunberg [57] ABSTRACT An article ofconvertible furniture in which the seat portion of the furniture is oftwo part hinged construction pivotally mounted in the main body of thearticle so that the seat portion may be swung out and extended in frontof the furniture. and leaving a space between the seat portion of thefurniture and the back, and incorporating a moveable support frame whichmay be interposed in the space defined between the extended seatingportion and the back, the back cushion of the furniture being removeableand insertable in such space, and being supported by such frame, wherebyto provide a bed or reclining surface.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED U 3.864.764

sum 10F 2 PATENTED 3. 864.764

SHEET 2 UF 2 1 CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE The invention relates toconvertible furniture such as chairs, loveseats, chesterfields and thelike, which may be converted into a bed, chaise lounge or couch.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A wide variety of proposals are on record inthe Patent Office for the construction of convertible furniture.Basically they all provide some form of movement for extending andlevelling the seat and/or the back so as to convert from a chair orchesterfield into a bed or couch. In some cases, the back portion ishinged so as to swing backwardly, and in other cases it is hinged so asto swing and slide forwardly. In some cases, the upholstered surface ofthe chair portion of the furniture is used for the bed, and in othersuch devices an entirely separate mattress or separate mattress cushionsare concealed within the device.

Generally speaking, however, all of such convertible furniture sufferedfrom undue complexity in design. In particular most of the prior artattempts have been directed towards providing an extremely heavycomplicated piece of furniture, and then incorporating in it a varietyof counterbalancing devices or springs by means of which the actualweight of the moveable portions of the furniture is reduced so that itmay more readily be converted from one mode to another without undueeffort or strain.

As a result of this complexity in design, the devices have been undulyexpensive to manufacture and have been prone to breakdown, and have alsolead to limitations on the various designs possible for such furniture,and in particular have resulted in the construction of heavy clumsyoverstuffed furniture such as is totally unacceptable in more restrictedliving quarters such as apartments, townhouses and the like, where suchfurniture will of course, by its very nature, find its greatest utility.

It is therefore generally desireable to provide some form of convertiblefurniture which is light and simple to construct, and which eliminatesas far as possible all counter balancing means and undue complexity sothat it may be made as cheaply and as simply as possible. In addition,it is desireable that the form of convertibility of the furniture shallbe such that it adapts readily to a chair, loveseat or chesterfield, andmay be made up in a wide variety of different forms of contemporarydesign without the construction of the convertible portions of thefurniture unduly limiting such design.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention seeks to overcome theforegoing disadvantages, and to provide an article of convertiblefurniture in which the seat portion of the furniture is of two parthinged construction pivotally mounted so that the seat portion may beswung out and extended in front of the furniture, and leaving a spacebetween the seat portion of the furniture and the back, andincorporating a moveable support frame which may be interposed in thespace defined between the extended seating portion and the back, theback cushion of the furniture being removeable and insertable in suchspace, and being supported by such frame, whereby to provide a bed orreclining surface.

It is further and related objective of the invention to provide anarticle of furniture having multiple seating facilities in which theindividual seating portions may be separately extended whereby oneportion of the furniture may be extended to provide a reclining surfaceor bed while the remaining seating portion or portions may remainavailable for seating.

It is a further and related objective of the invention to provide anarticle of convertible furniture ofthe type described in which themoveable support frame may be erected in two positions to provide twodifferent angles of support for the back cushion whereby to provide asupport surface for a portion of the body which is at an angle to theremainder of the reclining surface.

It is a further and related objective of the invention to provide anarticle of convertible furniture of the type described in which thesupport frame may be stored within the article of furniture when notrequired for USB.

It is a further and related objective of the invention to provide anarticle of convertible furniture of the type described in which thesupport frame, when in its stored position, may also provide locatingmeans for positioning the removeable back cushion and partiallysupporting the same.

The foregoing and other objectives of the invention will become apparentfrom a description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which isgiven here by way of example only with reference to the followingdrawings, in which like reference devices refer to like parts thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective frontillustration of an article of furniture according to the inventionshowing one seating portion thereof extended, and one retracted forseating;

FIG. 2 is a section along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional illustration similar to FIG. 2 showing the seatingportion partially extended, and, FIG. 4 is a side elevationalillustration partly in section, along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1 showing thearticle in its reclining position.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. I, it willbe seen that the invention is illustrated in the form of a loveseat ortwo seater chesterfield 10. It will however, be understood that theinvention is not limited to such a two seater article of furniture, butis equally applicable to a chair, or a two seater or a three seater oreven a four seater chesterfield if such an article should be desired.

As shown in FIG. 1, the chesterfield 10 is shown with a back 12, a baseor seat portion 13, arms 14, and two seating units shown generally as 16and 18. The seating unit 16 is shown in its seating position, and theseating unit 18 is shown extended it its reclining position.

The seating units 16 and 18 will be seen to comprise, a back cushion 20and an upper seat cushion 22, and, a lower seat cushion 24. As will beunderstood from FIG. 1, the lower seat cushion 24 is in fact concealedfrom view beneath the upper seat cushion 22, when the seating unit, forexample, the seating unit 16, is in its seating position, as shown inFIG. I.

As will be seen from FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the back 12 and base 13 of thechesterfield 10 are of hollow construction, comprising the back panel26, and the top panel 28, and the under panel 30 and the front panel 32.The various panels 26 to 32 are of course covered at least on theexterior with upholstery fabric, and may, if desired, be provided with athin layer of cushion material such as foam rubber or felt or the like,if desired, these details having been omitted from the drawings for thesake of clarity.

In order to mount the two seat cushions 22 and 24 in position, the seatcushion 24 is pivotally mounted on hub34 on the transverse pivot rod 36extending from side to side of the chesterfield 10. If desired, thepivot rod 36 may be supported between adjacent seating units l6, 18,etc., to provide additional strength.

The upper seat cushion 22 is hingedly mounted to one edge of the lowerseat cushion 24, by the hinge 38, by means of which the upper seatcushion 22 may be swung upwardly relative to the lower seat cushion 24as shown.

An intermediate scissor like leg member 40 is pivotally mounted to boththe lower seating cushion 24 and the upper seat cushion 22, so that itmay be extended into a supporting and ground engaging position when thetwo seat cushions are extended into their reclining position as shown inFIGS. 1 and 4.

A further supporting leg member 42 is pivotally mounted to the free endof the upper seat cushion 22 as shown so that'it may be extended toprovide further support as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.

A supporting lip or flange 44 is provided on the lower rear side of thelower seat cushion 24 for purposes to be described below.

The back cushion 16 is dimensioned to fit between the upper surface ofthe upper seat cushion 22, and the top panel 28 of the back 12.Preferably, the upper and lower edges of the cushion 16 are angled so asto provide a suitable rearwardly inclined angle for the back cushion 16.

When the upper and lower seat cushions 22 and 24 are swung outwardlyinto their extended position, there will be a substantial spacing leftbetween the rearwardly directed edge of the lower seat cushion 24 andthe back panel 26 of the back 12. In order to flll in this space, amoveable supporting frame is provided which may be introduced into thisspace to provide a support for the back cushion 16. Such moveablesupport frame in this instance, is provided by means of the tubular D-shaped frame member 46 hinged to the back panel 26 at 48, and beingdimensioned so that it may be swung upwardly concealed within the recessprovided within the back 12 by the panel 26 and the top panel 28. Aretaining clip 50 may be provided to retain it in position in itsrecessed position if desired.

The measurements of the frame 46 are such that it will engage the flange44 and thereby be supported in a suitable position.

In order to provide for two different angular positions for support forthe back cushion 16, the secondary support frame 52 may be used asdescribed below. The secondary support frame 52 is pivotally mounted asat 54 to the support frame 46, and is dimensioned and arranged so thatit may be swung inwardly through the support frame 46, so that it mayextend on either side thereof, or lie entirely therewithin, if desired.

The secondary support frame 52 in fact can perform two functions. Whenthe seating unit 16, 18 or the like is in its seating position, with thesupport frame 46 in its upright position, clipped into the clip 50, thenthe secondary support frame 52 can be swung downwardly to rest on theupper surface of the upper seating cushion 21. In this position, it actsas a support for the lower rearward surface of the back cushion 20, andprevents the back cushion 20 from slipping rearwardly when a person issitting in the chair.

When the upper and lower seating cushions 22 and 24 are in theirreclining position, and when the support frame 46 has been swungdownwardly on the flange 44, the secondary support frame 52 can be swungupwardly and rearwardly so that it rests against the inside of the backpanel 26, and in that position it will rest at an upwardly inclinedangle. and will then provide support for the upper rear edge of the backcushion 20, so that the back cushion I6 is then supported in an upwardlyangled reclining position suitable for use as a couch rather than a bed.Alternatively, the secondary support frame 52 may simply be swungdownwardly through the support frame 46, so that the back cushion 20simply rests on the supporting frame 46 in the manner described above.

ln this way two positions of support for the back cushion 20 areprovided.

It will of course be appreciated that during use as seat, the lower seatcushion 24 rests on the inside of the under panel 30, and the upper seatcushion is supported on the undersurface of the lower seat cushion. Thetwo seat cushions are folded out merely by grasping the front portion ofthe upper seat cushion 22 and pulling it upwardly and outwardly so thatit swings with it the lower seat cushion 24 into its extended recliningposition.

The support frame 46 may then be folded down onto the flange 44, and theback cushion 20 is then supported either horizontal or in an upwardinclined position in the manner described above.

It will be seen that by this means an article of furniture may beprovided having either one two three or four seats, each one of whichcan be separately converted from a seat into a bed or couch. Inaddition, it will be observed that there is a total absence ofinterconnecting linkages and springs such as characterized suchconvertible furniture in the past, and the entire unit may be providedin a compact and yet readily useable manner. In addition, convertiblefurniture according to the invention is clearly very well adapted to usein a variety of different furniture designs, such as will enable its useon a much wider scale than in the case of prior art proposals.

The foregoing is a description of a preferred embodiment of theinvention which is given here by way of example only. The invention isnot to be taken as limited to any of the specific features as described,but comprehends all such variations thereof as come within the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An article of convertible furniture, convertible between tubpositions, in one position providing a seating unit, and in the otherposition providing a reclining unit, said article having a back portionand a seat portion and comprising;

intermediate cushion means having an upholstered surface located in saidseat portion with said upholstered surface directed downwardly;

pivot means connected to said intermediate cushion whereby the same maybe rotated outwardly from said seat portion, with said upholsteredsurface directed upwardly;

upper cushion means, having an upholstered surface located in said seatportion with said upholstered surface directed upwardly, super-adjacentsaid intermediate cushion means when in a seating position;

means pivotally connecting said intermediate cushion means and saidupper cushion means whereby the same may be swung into alignment withone another into a reclining position;

support means for said upper cushion means supporting the same whenswung into the reclining position as aforesaid;

back cushion means having front and rear surfaces and located betweensaid back portion and said upper cushion means, when said article is inits said seating position said back cushion being removeable;

main support frame means swingably mounted on said article between saidback portion and said back cushion means and swingable outwardly forsupporting said back cushion means in the reclining position, and,

secondary frame means swingably mounted on said main frame means forsupporting said rear surface of back cushion means when the same is inthe seating position.

2. An article of furniture is claimed in claim 1 including intermediatelegmeans connected between said intermediate cushion means and saidupper cushion means, and extending therefrom for supporting the junctiontherebetween when they are extended from said seat portion in saidreclining position.

3. An article of furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mainsupport frame means is pivotally mounted on said back portion of saidarticle for swinging between a stored substantially upright position.and an in use position, and including abuttment means formed on saidintermediate cushion means, said support frame means being dimensionedand arranged so as to interengage with said abutment means when the sameis swung into its in use position as aforesaid. thereby prodivingsupport for said back cushion extending between said intermediatecushion means and said back portion.

4. An article of furniture as claimed in claim 3 wherein, when said mainsupport frame means is in its in use position as aforesaid, saidsecondary frame means is swingeable between an upper in use position.and a lower out of use position, said secondary frame means beingdimensioned and arranged whereby to lie against said back portion ofsaid article when in its in use position as aforesaid whereby to providean inclined support for said back cushion, thereby permitting the sameto be used either in an upper reclining position or a lower recliningposition as desired.

5. An article of furniture as claimed in claim 1 including a back panelforming part ofsaid back portion, and wherein said back cushion meanswhen in the seating position defines a space between itself and saidback panel, for storage of said main and secondary frame means therein,said back cushion when in a reclining position extending into saidspace, whereby to provide greater length for reclining.

1. An article of convertible furniture, convertible between tubpositions, in one position providing a seating unit, and in the otherposition providing a reclining unit, said article having a back portionand a seat portion and comprising; intermediate cushion means having anupholstered surface located in said seat portion with said upholsteredsurface directed downwardly; pivot means connected to said intermediatecushion whereby the same may be rotated outwardly from said seatportion, with said upholstered surface directed upwardly; upper cushionmeans, having an upholstered surface located in said seat portion withsaid upholstered surface directed upwardly, super-adjacent saidintermediate cushion means when in a seating position; means pivotallyconnecting said intermediate cushion means and said upper cushion meanswhereby the same may be swung into alignment with one another into areclining position; support means for said upper cushion meanssupporting the same when swung into the reclining position as aforesaid;back cushion means having front and rear surfaces and located betweensaid back portion and said upper cushion means, when said article is inits said seating position said back cushion being removeable; mainsupport frame means swingably mounted on said article between said backportion and said back cushion means and swingable outwardly forsupporting said back cushion means in the reclining position, and,secondary frame means swingably mounted on said main frame means forsupporting said rear surface of back cushion means when the same is inthe seating position.
 2. An article of furniture is claimed in claim 1including intermediate leg means connected between said intermediatecushion means and said upper cushion means, and extending therefrom forsupporting the junction therebetween when they are extended from saidseat portion in said reclining position.
 3. An article of furniture asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said main support frame means is pivotallymounted on said back portion of said article for swinging between astored substantially upright position, and an in use position, andincluding abuttment means formed on said intermediate cushion means,said support frame means being dimensioned and arranged so As tointerengage with said abutment means when the same is swung into its inuse position as aforesaid, thereby prodiving support for said backcushion extending between said intermediate cushion means and said backportion.
 4. An article of furniture as claimed in claim 3 wherein, whensaid main support frame means is in its in use position as aforesaid,said secondary frame means is swingeable between an upper in useposition, and a lower out of use position, said secondary frame meansbeing dimensioned and arranged whereby to lie against said back portionof said article when in its in use position as aforesaid whereby toprovide an inclined support for said back cushion, thereby permittingthe same to be used either in an upper reclining position or a lowerreclining position as desired.
 5. An article of furniture as claimed inclaim 1 including a back panel forming part of said back portion, andwherein said back cushion means when in the seating position defines aspace between itself and said back panel, for storage of said main andsecondary frame means therein, said back cushion when in a recliningposition extending into said space, whereby to provide greater lengthfor reclining.